1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for decomposing polyacrylonitrile to ammonia and water soluble products by heating with liquid water as a starting material (pH of 7.0) at high temperatures.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Polyacrylonitrile resins and their copolymers ("polyacrylonitriles") find widespread use in plastics, rubber and carbon-fiber applications. A disadvantage of current thermal processes used for their depolymerization is that hydrogen cyanide is formed as a by-product of degradation. Applicants' process uses, by contrast, only neutral, hot liquid water as a starting material to decompose the polyacrylonitrile and forms ammonia as one by-product (i.e., without the potentially toxic side effects associated with the production of hydrogen cyanide).